LB with four stars Texas is Elijah Barnes’ commitment.
The Longhorns sign a quick linebacker with a build suitable for the SEC.
Elijah Barnes, a linebacker for the Dallas Skyline, unexpectedly committed on Friday, demonstrating that the Longhorn City Limits recruiting event in Austin last weekend is still paying off for the Texas Longhorns.
Barnes told Inside Texas, “Texas is heading to the SEC and the train is rolling.” “I am one of the dogs that Texas needs to join as they are about to win a national championship.”
Johnny Nansen, the new co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Texas, has made Barnes a particular target at linebacker. Barnes accepted the Longhorns’ offer last spring and visited the Forty Acres for summer camp. The 6’1.5, 220-pound player, who also has official visits scheduled to Nebraska and Ohio State in the upcoming weeks in addition to an official visit to Texas in June, recently visited Alabama and SMU.
Out of over thirty offers, including those from Auburn, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas A&M, USC, and others, Barnes choose Texas.
After posting 131 tackles and 15 tackles for loss in his outstanding sophomore season, Barnes made waves in the recruiting field last year as a junior. He also recorded three sacks, six forced fumbles, four interceptions, and 12 tackles for loss.
Barnes, who weighs 220 pounds and runs the anchor leg for Skyline in the 4×100-meter relay, demonstrated his off-field agility this spring with a 10.96-meter time in the 100-meter event.
Barnes, a four-star prospect by most accounts, is ranked No. 13 at linebacker and No. 98 overall in the 247Sports Composite rankings. With six commitments, the 2025 Longhorns recruiting class is currently ranked No. 14 in the country.
Daniel Seahorn’s analysis:
Barnes is reported as weighing between 215 and 225 pounds on recruiting sites, while his height measurements put him at 6’1.5. A two-sport athlete, Barnes has remarkable track records for a sprinter of his size. As a junior, Barnes ran a 10.96-second 100-meter sprint and led Dallas Skyline’s 4X1 relay squad.
In football, Barnes is a two-way player for Skyline, playing both running back and inside linebacker. When you watch Barnes, you can see his athletic profile on video on both sides of the football. Barnes plays both off the ball and in space with a lot of comfort. He reads plays well, diagnoses them accurately, and when he reads run, things go south fast. Barnes shows that he can find his way around and pick through the debris to find the ball. Demonstrates the capacity and readiness to face and overcome obstacles when going downward. When Barnes is closing on ball carriers and sprinting from sideline to sideline, his athleticism truly sticks out on film. When he puts his foot in the ground and chooses to move, it is almost shocking how quickly he can close the space on the ball. On film, ball carriers occasionally misjudge his closing pace, and each time, he makes them pay for it. Barnes is a strong, wrap-up defender who regularly brings the ball carrier to the ground. It is safe to assume he will complete the play once he gets to the ball carrier. He has the athleticism and space comfort to make you believe he could be adequate in that area, but I’d like to see him versus the pass more on video to assess his comfort levels in drops and having to move backwards. All things considered, Barnes looks to be a jittery and athletic sideline to sideline defender who can elevate the position group’s ceiling and floor for this class.
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